New
Refugee Bill Will not Give Refugees a Fair Chance to Tell Their Stories

The
government has placed a new bill, Bill C-31, before parliament that will
fundamentally change Canada’s refugee system.One of the most important changes is to the refugee claim process
itself.Refugee claims will be decided much more quickly.In the opinion of most refugee experts, the process will be too
fast; it will not give refugee claimants a fair chance to tell their
story.

For
more than twenty years, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
has praised Canada’s refugee system as a model for other countries.In the Canadian system, every eligible refugee claimant is given a
hearing before an independent member of the Immigration and Refugee Board
(IRB).Most claimants have a
legal representative to assist them and they have enough time to gather
and present the evidence needed to prove that they are refugees. There are
problems with the system: some of the Board members are not reliable
decision-makers and there is no appeal, but the overall system gives most
claimants a fair chance to tell their story.

The
new system will be very different.After
they make their claim at a port-of-entry, refugee claimants will have only
15 days to find a lawyer who can take their case and prepare a written
statement explaining why they are a refugee. That is simply not enough
time for someone who has just arrived in Canada, does not speak English or
French, does not have a place to live, and knows nothing about Canada.Most immigrant Canadians can understand how confusing the arrival
experience can be.If
refugees do not deliver their written statement within 15 days, their
claim will be abandoned and they will be removed from Canada.The result will be that many claimants will have to deliver written
statements that are incomplete or inaccurate because they could not find
an available lawyer or the lawyer did not have enough time to fully
understand and prepare the claim.

Refugee
hearings will be scheduled 30 or 60 days later, depending on the claim
category.For many claimants,
that will not be enough time to find the evidence and witnesses they need
to prove their claim, especially if they need psychological or medical
reports. Some claimants will not have a right to appeal a refusal by the
IRB and could be deported from Canada 46 days after making their claim.
Claimants who can appeal will have only about 21 days to make their
appeal,not enough time to
fully prepare an effective appeal.

Canada’s
current refugee system is too slow and must be improved. But the
government is going from too slow to much too fast. It is very difficult
for most refugees to prove their claims. They are frightened, they do not
understand the law and they do not know how to tell their stories without
legal help. Under this new law, more refugee claimants will be forced to
prove their claims without lawyers. Even with a lawyer, there will not be
enough time to prove their claim. There will be more mistaken decisions by
the IRB and more refugees will be sent back to persecution.